Prairie Garden Trust
New Bloomfield, MO




Photos: www.HenryDomke.com
Size: 240 acres
Year established: Prairie Garden Trust (PGT) became a nonprofit in 2010, although nature garden development began in the 1980s.
Year inducted: 2021
Category: Professionally managed by PGT staff and volunteers
Entrance Fee: Free (by appointment)
Description:
The mission of the Prairie Garden Trust (PGT) is to share the beauty of nature found in a variety of enhanced native habitats on the PGT property. Visitors can stroll through woods, prairie plantings, and along ponds and streams to see the ever-changing plants, birds, butterflies, mammals and more that live here.
Founders Henry and Lorna Domke refer to PGT as a “a nature garden” because many areas are “tidied up” with the creation of graceful edges between fields and woods and added native plantings at key focal points. Enhanced walking trails, attractive directional signs, benches, and overlooks add a garden touch. PGT also features areas that appear wilder, including bottomland forest that borders Hillers Creek and moss- and lichen-covered limestone bluffs.
Natural displays at PGT vary by season: flowering dogwood, redbud, Virginia bluebells, and phlox in the early spring; purple coneflowers and butterfly weed in June; blazing star and lotus in July; asters in September; and fall colors in October.
Although the PGT has been more than 30 years in the making, the paved walkways, map and wayfinding signs were developed since 2015. A horticulturist and groundskeeper, with the help of volunteers, add to the native plantings and control of invasive plants.
What Makes this Garden Excellent:
The well-maintained native plantings and managed natural habitats at PGT make nature especially inviting, especially to those who may be new to hiking and nature study. PGT offers prairie plantings, open woodlands, ponds with wetland plants from many different parts of Missouri, and other habitats in close proximity to each other. That makes it easy to explore several of Missouri native plants and natural communities in one place. In addition, paved paths, restrooms, benches, directional signage, and the addition of attractive boulders and native plantings at key focal points enhances the visitor experience.
Ten Great Native Plants to See Here:
Baptisia australis (blue false indigo)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Leitneria floridana (corkwood)
Nelumbo lutea (American lotus)
Nymphaea odorata (water lilies)
Taxodium distichum (bald cypress)
Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Baptisia sphaerocarpa (yellow wild indigo)
Liatris pycnostachya (prairie blazingstar)
Signage: A large map is posted at the PGT center, with a map brochure and related stainless steel directional signs to guide visitors along the paved and mowed natural paths.
Accessibility: A total of about 10 miles of mowed trails of varying length allow easy walks to the prairie plantings, woods, lotus ponds, overlooks, and bottomland forest along Hillers Creek. One-half mile of paved trails provide access for wheelchairs and strollers to Beaver Lake and the Lotus Ponds.
Location:
8945 County Road 431
New Bloomfield, MO 65063
Coordinates:
38° 43′ 6.528” N 92° 3′ 32.256” W
38.718480, -92.058960
For More Information:
E: info@prairiegardentrust.org
P: (573) 220-8660
Area Hours: Open April – October, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. by appointment only